Do ducks keep the same mate for life?

[Banana01]

I have a really sweet female that has had two broods with a male, but the male i sold and got a new one to replace it. After I sold her mate, she never wants to leave the nest anymore. For neaely three months she spends all her time in a nest and only leaves for about 10 minutes each day.

I bought a new male to mate with the females for genetic diversity, and she has refused to leave the nest. The other grown adult ducks I have are all her offspring. She may be getting eggs again soon, but she has refused to go near the new male and wont leave her nest.

I kind of feel like I made a mistake letting her mate go.

Edit: I have 10 ducks total that includes 6 of her offspring, and 2 grandbabys with the new male. The new male i bought is the mate to several of the females. She does not hang out with any of the rest of the flock.

 

[ruthhope]

Poor mamma/grandmamma duck. What breed of duck is she?

In general ducks do not keep the same mate for life but some domestic ducks have very tight bonds especially those brought up together in small back garden flocks. Many people have posted on this forum after a duck has died and the mate pines.

I hope she can be coaxed out of her sadness

 

[swampfox440]

Just a suggestion. You might try penning. in separate the female from the drake for a week or so and see what happens. She might not want to establish a relationship because of all the competition. Good luck. In my experience ducks usually take on another mate when one of the pair is removed or dies. Eve swans that they say mate for life will sometimes take on another mate, I have a pair at this moment that both lost their mates and repaired as a pair and have been together for years.

 

[Banana01]

Poor mamma/grandmamma duck. What breed of duck is she?

In general ducks do not keep the same mate for life but some domestic ducks have very tight bonds especially those brought up together in small back garden flocks. Many people have posted on this forum after a duck has died and the mate pines.

I hope she can be coaxed out of her sadness

Just a suggestion. You might try penning in a separate the female with the drake for a week or so and see what happens. She might not want to establish a relationship because of all the competition. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies. They are muscovy ducks. Those are good points, but i think she is headed to the freezer soon. I dont like killing them but I have to lower the flock size.

Here is a photo of the new male and some of the others. And a photo of her with some of her offspring.

The male approached her and she ran off terrified, back to her comfortable nest. Her nest gets visitors from the chickens and hens, but she is not very social with the ducks.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Thanks for the replies. They are muscovy ducks. Those are good points, but i think she is headed to the freezer soon. I dont like killing them but I have to lower the flock size.

Here is a photo of the new male and some of the others. And a photo of her with some of her offspring.
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The male approached her and she ran off terrified, back to her comfortable nest. Her nest gets visitors from the chickens and hens, but she is not very social with the ducks.

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yeah because butchering is the only way to lower flock size
You could probably have found a happy home for her.